Field Relations and Petrogenesis of Amphibolites from the Webster-Addie/Willits Region, Eastern NC Blue Ridge

Amphibolites in the vicinity of the Webster-Addie (WA) ultramafic body, and in and around Willits, (WI) in the eastern Blue Ridge province of NC, occur as lenticular exposures of varying size (from \u3c 1 m across to roadcut and map-scale occurrences), generally enclosed in biotiteschists and gneisses of the Tallulah Falls formation. Textures of these rocks are strongly migmatitic to gneissic. Typical WA/WI amphibolite mineral assemblages are hbld+plag+qz+opaques�biotite� garnet with accessory chlorite, epidote, sphene, zircon, and apatite. Leucosome samples show myrmekitic textures, which is unusual in metamorphic rocks. Amphibolites often occur in close proximity to the Webster-Addie ultramafic body, but do not show clear contact relationships with ultramafic rocks. Geochemically, WA-WI amphibolites range from 49-63% SiO2, 1-9% MgO, 14-17% Al2O3, 4-16% Fe203 and 0.6-1.6% TiO2. These rocks plot as a single cluster on most major and trace element variation diagrams, suggesting amphibolites are compositionally similar across the region. Based on their trajectory on a TAS diagram, the volatile-free compositions of WA-WI amphibolites are consistent with basaltic andesite to andesite protoliths, On an AFM diagram, WI-WA amphibolites follow a more calc-alkaline trend The geochemistry of WA-WI amphibolites are unlike amphibolites from either the Buck Creek or Carroll Knob mafic-ultramafic complexes to the SW, as they are inconsistent with mafic cumulate compositions. There appears to be no petrogenetic relationship between WA-WI amphibolites and the spatially associated Webster-Addie or Balsam Gap ultramafic bodies. Our observations point to significant variation in amphibolite protoliths and petrogenesis along strike within the central Blue Ridge of southwestern North Carolina, Assessing amphibolite compositions and origins may prove to be a useful tectonic discriminant in evaluating Blue Ridge terrane associations

Skill development in the transition to a ‘green economy’: A ‘varieties of capitalism’ analysis

Many traditional regions are being transformed as industries restructure. Paradoxically, the global economic downturn offers opportunities to innovate on policies to regenerate areas experiencing deindustrialisation, with one emerging focus being the development of ‘green skills’ to facilitate the transition of these places to ‘green economies’. In this article, we explore similar policy objectives (i.e. regeneration activity based (in part) on green economy transitions) across three deindustrialising/deindustrialised regions – Appalachia (United States), Ruhr (Germany) and the Valleys (South Wales) – to provide an account of the ways in which different regions with similar industrial pasts diverge in their approach to moving towards greener futures. Our argument is that the emphasis in such transitions should be the creation of ‘decent’ jobs, with new economic activity and employment initiatives embracing a ‘high road’ (i.e. high skill/high pay/high quality) trajectory. Utilising a ‘varieties of capitalism’ analysis, we contend that an effective, socially inclusive and ‘high road’ transition is more likely to emerge within co-ordinated market economy contexts, for example, Germany, than within the liberal market economy contexts of, for example, the United States and United Kingdom. In identifying the critical success factors leading to ‘high road’ green economy, the implications for any such transition within the liberal market economy context of Australia are highlighted